Post #103

Subject: The reality of the surge….

The original purpose of the surge, as defined by George W. Bush – to buy time for the central government in Iraq to get its act together and win the trust of all Iraqis. But even neo-cons can agree – “at the national political level the Maliki government remains a disaster.” – see my Post #102.

Therefore, according to Bush’s own original purpose, the surge has failed.

“And surging our forces in Baghdad risks terrible consequences: more American lives lost and more unbearable strain on our military for no strategic gain.” – Senator Joe Biden, my Post #50 from January 2007. If only they had listened…. * sigh *

Back in November, CIA director Michael Hayden said, ”The inability of the government to govern is irreversible." There is no "milestone or checkpoint where we can turn this thing around. We have spent a lot of energy and treasure creating a government…. that cannot function."

Two weeks ago, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq found that "Iraqi political leaders remain unable to govern effectively" and that "the Iraqi government will become more precarious” -- um, less stable – “over the next six to twelve months."

Simply, it’s time -- and has been for a while – to “run, run, run away, live to fight another day.”

Let’s say our military was at a Level 5 last summer when I started this blog. Now, we are weaker, our ability to respond to other threats is at Level 4. Let’s also say the world is a dangerous place, Level 5 last summer. Now, it’s Level 6 – indeed, I heard the other day that Turkish troops are massed on the border of northern Iraq ready to sweep in when we leave. Does it make sense to continue to squander our military resources – blood and treasure –as the world becomes more and more dangerous?

Now, as we know from the book Dead Certain, Bush’s goal is really to buy time so that the Republican Presidential candidates can be comfortable supporting the surge and a much longer military presence in the Middle East. And that is fighting terrorism how? Were those involved in the planned attacks reveled this week from Baghdad?